Those applying for a job in the UK Parliament must indicate on their security clearance forms whether their fathers are male, female, or “other,” the Daily Mail reported on Tuesday. Critics have branded the eyebrow-raising questionnaire as “woke nonsense.”
The vetting forms seen by the newspaper ask the parliament’s employees to answer questions about their parents, including their names, dates of birth and nationalities. However, beginning recently, the job applicants must now reportedly put down information about the gender of their “birth father.”
The choices are said to include female, male, and “other,” with no possibility given to skip the question. The same questions are also asked about the applicant’s mother.
Speaking to the British tabloid, one parliamentary staffer, who had filled out the form, described it as “baffling” and “nonsensical.” “How could it possibly make sense to ask that question? There is only one possible answer, and in any case, why do they have to know, and why would they care if this has changed?” he asked.
Former UK education minister and MP Brendan Clarke-Smith called the question on parents’ gender “woke nonsense.” “Staffers will probably be thinking this is some sort of intricate psychometric test, rather than a serious question,” he noted. He added he was not sure why this issue should be part of the vetting procedure.
The House of Commons would not clarify why and when the questionnaire had been updated, only saying that “Parliament has a range of robust security vetting procedures, based on good practice and ensuring a consistent approach.”
The controversy comes as parliament intends to fulfill “minimum” gender-neutral lavatory quotas as part of a £13 billion ($15.7 billion) restoration plan, which are set at 10% for existing buildings on the assembly’s estate, according to a Daily Telegraph report last month. However, new buildings will have a target of “70% gender-neutral toilets with a 30% split between either male and female facilities.”
In early September, female British MPs were outraged after a lady’s room in the Commons was quietly turned into an “inclusive” facility open to both to men and people identifying themselves as transgender.